Dinner Diplomacy
On Monday, August 12th, the World Affairs Council hosted their first ever Dinner Diplomacy event at Headquarters in Newport, Kentucky. This event welcomed seasoned home hosts, potential home hosts, and 18 youth ambassadors from Cyprus participating in the Digital Literacy program.
What is dinner diplomacy? Why is it important? To answer these questions, we have to understand food as culture.
International delegates sharing dinner with local family.
Food is such an important part of culture. Every country, every ethnic group, and many religions, have specific cultures and rules around food that make it special. Even Americans do, whether we consciously think about it or not. Whether you have a special recipe passed down from your grandparents, a recipe you love to make, your favorite dish at a restaurant, or a specific cultural dish that is important to you. Almost everyone has a happy memory surrounded by food, family, and friends. That is why sharing the culture of food is such an important aspect of the World Affairs Council’s monthly exchange programs.
Dinner Diplomacy is a big part of what makes the Council’s international exchanges so important and meaningful for both our international delegates and our community members. These dinners are hosted by locals who are interested in international affairs, traveling, meeting new people, or who just want to make new friends! Visitors have a chance to experience American culture through spending a night around the dinner table (or at a restaurant) with local Cincinnatians and Kentuckians!
Dominique Ellison speaking to prospective dinner hosts and youth ambassadors.
During the event, Ms. Dominique Ellison, a brand new “just dinner” host volunteer, enthusiastically spoke about how wonderful it was to meet with people from all over the world. She shared that a big part was just asking questions and having open and honest conversations. By letting delegates ask you questions, and asking questions about their cultures, even if it seems silly or “offensive”, it shows that you are interested in learning. Everyone is just curious. We can’t learn from one another if we don’t ask questions. In this way, the dinners broke down stereotypes and preconceived notions about Americans and American culture, politics, religion, and more as well as breaking down any preconceived notions about the countries of the international visitors.
Mrs. Linette and Mr. Daniel Kuy, seasoned “just dinner” host volunteers, shared their experiences about building friendships over the many years and meeting delegates from all over the world. These dinners are not one-time experiences. They build long-lasting relationships between hosts and visitors. Mrs. and Mr. Kuy showcased this by explaining that they had gone to Peru on vacation and met up with one of the visitors they had hosted. Their visitor had the chance to show them around their city and host the Kuys for dinner in their home. This is the epitome of what dinner diplomacy is all about!
The youth ambassadors who attended the dinner were also very impressed with everything the dinner hosts had to say. Although they had only been in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky for a very short time, the students expressed how beautiful the region is and how nice everyone was to them. The students said that they wanted people to know that tensions between the people of Turkish Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus are not as bad as Americans might think. Unlike in previous generations, the mindset of two separate people is not as prevalent. However, they explained that the education on both the Greek and Turkish sides is very one-sided. They wanted a less-biased version of history to be taught because they did not like that the history they were receiving was always blaming the other side. However, they wished that there were more opportunities for students to come together, like they have, and to share dinner to talk about everything that makes them the same and to expel the preconceived notions that students on the other side of the border might have.
Overall, our Dinner Diplomacy was a complete success! We are so grateful to those who were able to come. This truly was an incredible experience for everyone to come together for dinner and share their stories.
Dinner host speaking with youth ambassadors from Cyprus.
Our Dinner Diplomacy was made possible through Global Ties U.S. and Marriott Hotels International. We would like to thank everyone who participated in this program and made it possible for us to host this event. We would like to thank Global Ties U.S., Marriott Hotels International, Headquarters Wedding and Event Space, Seasoned Dish, our dinner diplomats, our youth ambassadors, and the World Affairs Council Staff.
